About this mod

This is an exhaustive, easy to install graphical overhaul mod for the Mass Effect Trilogy.

Permissions and credits

Author's instructions

This mod is a compilation of many (hundreds) other mods. Those weren't authored by me.

As such, you can only use assets originating from ALOT for your own and release them if you've acquired express consent from the original file authors and adhere to their personal permission rules. Original authors are listed in the description. If you have a question on a specific texture, feel free to send me a PM.

Permissions relative to "Tarshana's Alternative Face Textures" by Tarshana :You are free to use them and send them back to Creeper to use in a future ALOT if you believe it is better, but do not re-upload as a standalone because it is meant for use with ALOT. Further, I give CreeperLava ownership of any textures I create and released for ALOT- he can do with them as he pleases.

File credits

Credit goes to smarteck, CDAMJC, JeanLuc761, commositore, MaryseDynasty, ELE08, Ellise, AlvaroMe, DeadMeat_357, sulezraz, and ThinkBlueN7. I have of course their permission to use their mods.

Contains textures from Poliigon.com and textures.com - Those textures may not be redistributed.

CREDIT : The textures included in this mod are for the most part not authored by me. Full list here.Many thanks to AlvaroMe, commositore, CDAMJC, cristi1990an, DeadMeat, ELE08, Ellise, JeanLuc761, JimbobJeffers, MaryseDynasty, Mgamerz, mylastsong18, smarteck, sulezraz, Tarshana and ThinkBlueN7, for letting me use their work here. A huge thank you to CDAMJC as well, for working on releasing a new version of MEUITM, compatible with MEM.Thank you also to aquadran (MassEffectModder), AlvaroMe (Spreadsheet Master), Mgamerz (ALOT Installer) and KFreon (ImageEngine).

WHAT IS THIS MOD ?

ALOT is a one-step download to upgrade Mass Effect 3's graphics to today's standards. Around 2200 high resolution (2K, 4K) textures have been carefully chosen from the works of other mod authors or crafted by myself. The goal is to achieve the best look possible, while remaining very close to the vanilla (unmodded) style. Comparison screenshots available here.Among many others, this project includes HR textures for : squad mates, environments, cerberus, geth, quarians, reapers, the galaxy map, NPCs, weapons, armors, et cætera. Textures for the multiplayer are also included.

- We compiled hundreds of mods made by various mod authors into a single, exhaustive package. This is made possible by the (relatively) small modding community for Mass Effect.- We created a complete database of "portable" (ie identical) textures between the 3 Mass Effect games. This means comparing through various means about 44 000 textures.- Bioware downscaled many textures and upscaled others throughout the development of the 3 games (eg a texture could be 1024px in ME1, 512px in ME2, 256px in ME3). We normalized these textures (same, highest resolution everywhere).- Some of the original, not downscaled textures are still present in the game files (promotional textures). We restored those we could find. Jack's face, some of Shepard's armor, and more, benefit from this.- We made plenty of new textures. More to come in the regular updates. Texture makers are welcome to participate !

Contains textures from Poliigon.com and textures.com - Those textures may not be redistributed.Some textures were inspired from NASA and ESA pictures. Credit :ESO/S. BrunierNOAO/AURA/NSFNASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC/Caltech)NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)Reto Stöckli, NASA Earth Observatory

(video by UniqueActive - best viewed in fullscreen and HD)

INSTALLATION

0. Install content mods before ALOT (eg DLC mods like EGM, Interface mod, Controller mod, etc).1. Download the Installer from the downloads section, here on Nexus.2. Follow the overly detailed installation tutorial available here. ALOT is now installed.3.(Optional) Install any other texture mods you want, after ALOT, using the Installer.To install TPF, DDS, MOD mods, simply run the Installer, drag & drop them on it, and click install. Make sure the user files box is checked.

If you have any issues or questions, first read the FAQ (see below) to see if it is already answered there. If it isn't, come over on Discord and discuss it with us. You can also join us there to talk about ALOT, modding, or whatever you want :).

NVIDIA / AMD Control Panel.Open your control panel, modify the settings as you see fit. The truly essential settings to enable are Anti-Aliasing and Triple Buffering. Most of the other useful settings available are already modified by MEM, directly in the game's INI settings. Guide available here.

ENBs, SweetFX and other graphical enhancement tools.I recommend using Lights Effect 2.5 (colourful preset by DjG545, reuploaded from here with the author's permission).You can find more of these ENBs/FX here, there, over here and over there. Send screenshots !

UPDATING ALOT

1. Download the Installer from the downloads section, if you don't have it anymore. Run it. If you still have it, run it all the same, the Installer will auto update.2. The Installer will tell you if an update is available and how to install it. If the major version of ALOT you have installed (e.g. 6.0) is different than the newest, you will have to restore your game first.

FAQ

1.General Advice

Pirated copies of ME3 and its DLCs may or may not work, in any case, they won't be supported.

Turn Origin's auto update setting off. Otherwise, Origin can overwrite modded game files with the originals without asking. If that happens, reinstall everything.

Avira and Bitdefender were reported to cause issues with MEM and the Installer. As a general rule, deactivate your antivirus when installing ALOT.

2.Is ALOT compatible with [insert popular mod here] ?There are no known incompatibilities with any other mods. Just make sure to install them in the correct order.Install all content mods (eg SP Controller Support, EGM, ISM, etc) before ALOT.Install all texture and meshes mods (ie TPF, DDS or MOD files) after ALOT, so they'll overwrite ALOT.To install TPF, DDS, MOD mods, simply run the Installer, drag & drop them on it, and click install.For more generic information about mod formats, read this article.

3.How do I make a backup ?You can backup and restore your game from the Addon's interface. Look into the Settings menu. Your game needs to be unmodded.

4.Crashes, freezesALOT shouldn't cause any CTDs (Crash to Desktop). However, here are a few workarounds for crashes encountered by users.

If you pirated ME3, cracked EXEs can cause this type of problem with modded games.

Running the game in windowed mode and adding the command line argument "-nomoviestartup" to the exe was reported to fix some CTDs.

Disabling Motion Blur (in the GamerSettings.ini or Coalesced.bin) fixed crashes in some DLCs.

Disabling ReShade / SweetFX / other fixed crashes for some people.

Flawless Widescreen was reported as a potential cause for crashes.

5.Adding DLCs after the installationIf you install a DLC after having installed ALOT, it is likely you will break the game. You have to vanilla your game completely, then redo the installation with your new DLC installed.

6.MEM versus TexmodTexmod loads all the textures directly in your RAM, whereas MEM replaces the textures directly in the main game. So, with Texmod, you get a veeery long initial loading screen (30mn+ depending on your HDD and amount of mods). You're also limited to 4 GB of mods. With MEM , you shouldn't experience loading screens longer than a few minutes, at most : the game only loads the textures needed for the level you are entering, not the whole game.

7.MEM versus ME3ExplorerMEM is a tool used to browse / modify textures and meshes. ME3Explorer is a toolkit for modders.MEM is built for speed and fixes many issues ME3Explorer texture installation has (list of ME3Explorer known issues). Thus, it should be preferred to ME3Explorer for texture and meshes installation.

8.Some textures aren't high-resolution / still look unmoddedThere are 27 379 textures in ME3. ALOT is huge, but not that huge. I'm always working on more textures, but I prefer quality over quantity, so it's a slow process. Feel free to make some textures yourself and share them, to fill the gaps :).

FEEDBACK

TheViper823xYou saved my life

jurgcl29Wow! I have been wanting to play ME3 again for sometime now, but I didn't want to have to re download and install all of the texture mods on my new computer. I will definitely be playing again now! Thank you!

anoddexperimentWow... just, wow. It's like playing an entirely new game. [...] I play on a 4k monitor, and this has made the experience truly epic.

worthlessdaiseyHUGE thanks to putting this pack together. Makes life a lot easier than trying to find all the little pieces.

XayjynExcellent compilation mod; adds a huge amount of immersion to the game.

furosuto81I recently upgraded to a 4K monitor and it left the standard textures looking....wanting...to say the least. I've now played through the Earth tutorial and the improvement is astounding.

Spark9Thank you VERY MUCH for taking the time to put this together. I was searching for exactly something like this. Thank you very much :)

Ironhead34Just want to say thanks for putting this together. Recently built a new PC and this is my first time playing through ME3 with mods. What a difference. No hiccups with installation. FWIW - using Windows 10.